Andrew Leigh

ANDREW LEIGH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR TREASURY
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES
MEMBER FOR FENNER

ZANETA MASCARENHAS
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR SWAN

MORRISON GOVERNMENT FAILING AUSTRALIANS WITH UNDERPERFORMING ECONOMY

Stagnating wages and rising cost of living are forcing more and more Western Australians to seek help from services like Foodbank WA.

More than 40,000 people a month turn to Foodbank WA to make ends meet, around half of them employed but unable to balance the household budget as underemployment and price hikes start to bite.

Organisers work alongside hundreds of charities to help ease the pressure on families across Western Australia, many of which are reportedly only one or two pay cheques away from being broke.

The hardworking people behind Foodbank WA are doing vital work, but Australians should not have to be reliant on such services to make ends meet.

Even before the pandemic, Australians weren’t seeing the economy we deserved.

The past ten years has been the slowest decade for growth per person of any decade in the post war era. Prices for food, fuel and childcare continue to rise while incomes stagnate.

Wage growth under the Morrison Government has been tepid.

This decade-old Government clearly aren’t capable of ensuring that Australia has a more productive, dynamic and entrepreneurial economy. While they remain distracted by photo opps and infighting, Labor has a clear plan for a better future with secure, well-paid jobs a priority so Australians can get ahead.

ENDS

Authorised by Paul Erickson, ALP, Canberra.